All the Things She Said
by Rachey Himura
Summary: 30Kisses LJ Challenge. Yuffentine
1. the space between dream and reality

**Spirit**  
_6 – The Space Between Dream and Reality_

**Disclaimer:** If I did own Final Fantasy VII or these characters I would be making a movie for every couple I like. But as I don't I instead write stories in which I can manipulate their lives to work with my will.

**Authors Note:** I'm sorry that my other stories are not yet done yet. I got distracted and everything I do promise an update coming soon, as I've started the next installments for _Twisted Reality _and_ Bloody Illusions. _In the meantime I have a few one-shots I've been working on lately for the 30kisses LiveJournal Challenge Community. All are Yuffentine. Be forewarned if you don't like that ship. These are all a series of one-shots being kept together.

Vincent had lost track of which were his dreams and which were reality. He'd wake in the middle of the night and smell her perfume; he could swear he'd hear her soft snoring coming from beside him most nights. He'd turn to check on her, wrap his arm around her and hold her close so that she would never escape his grip again and she'd be gone. Her side of the bed would remain empty and cold… and he'd remember.

She had cured him of his guilt, cleansed him of his sins and made him feel human again. Now he was stuck with the painful truth that he was indeed a monster. He would outlive everyone he knew and he would outlive his son. He destroyed everything. He destroyed the things he loved and cared about the most. He had ultimately destroyed her and now his fears were that he would destroy his infant son.

_"Vinnie, you're suck so much when you're beating yourself up."_

He kept his hand on her side of the bed; he wasn't sure whether it was memories or insanity that brought back the words spoken in jest. Back then he mourned and held himself responsible for another, a death that she had cured. A death she had made him realize wasn't his fault. Most people considered the feat of his guilt impossible.

It hadn't been impossible for her. Not for Yuffie. There was never a mission that was too big or scary for her to accomplish. She had endless energy and remarkable patience for him, which was surprising considering how often she lost her patience with everything else.

_"Vinnie, do me a favor...? Don't blame yourself for what happened to me."_

He had broken his promise to her in the end. He did blame himself. He could only hope that once he managed to find forgiveness he would break free of the illusions and her haunting memory. Knowing Yuffie, she would be there, right beside him until he managed to forgive himself once more. Still, even if she was with him than it would be his fault she hadn't moved on to heaven yet. He would never be able to hold her close to him ever again and he needed her. She had been his only truth.


	2. if only i could make you mine

**Light and Dark**  
_26 - If Only I Could Make You Mine_

**Disclaimer:** I am nothing but a poor girl working her way through college and playing too many video games. Still do not own any rights to Vinnie, Yuffie or anything associated with Final Fantasy VII (except the game and movie… I do own a copy of each.)

Yuffie was tired of hearing him call himself a monster, every day, every time he started to open up just the tiniest bit as soon as he realized this he closed himself off from her. Locked him self up and told himself how monstrous and evil he was. He honestly believed that he was a dark being damned to an eternity of hell.

Yuffie knew differently. He never scared her. Even his inhuman arm – which he claimed was only to show the outside world how monstrous he was – was beautiful to her. She loved the red of his eyes, she loved his messy hair. She loved his obscene obsession with that red tattered cloak of his or of wearing clothes that made him look like some sort of grim reaper – a very hot sexy one at that.

He punished himself for letting down the love of his life. She didn't love that. He didn't deserve to be in so much pain over a no-good woman whom had let him down. It was Lucrecia's decision to trust Hojo (and she obviously had a few loose screws in her head if she had chose a quack like Hojo over Vincent) so there was no reason for him to still be punishing himself, blaming himself over the loss.

"I am a monster Yuffie. I could only bring darkness into your life." He reasoned with her, honestly believing his words. He would never tarnish her light. Never allow him self to be the reason another lost their light. He would protect her from afar, remain hidden in the shadows. His only companions in this cold, uncaring world would be the monsters that lived inside of him and his gun – the Death Penalty. That was how it should be.

She came though. She came everyday. She refused to let him live his life holed up in the side of some mountain asking for forgiveness from a dead woman whom had let him down.

"So what?" She asked as if his being a dark creature of the night was nothing big at all. She made it seem so innocent. She made him feel human again when she acted so carelessly. She didn't flinch from his claw or his crimson gaze. As short and frail as she was she could make him feel small and insignificant with just the promise of light and life she brought with her. "I don't care about that Vinnie."

He was the dark creature of the night, but she… she was the light. "Light and Dark can never be mixed together Yuffie. It won't work. Ever." He tried to reason with her. She could be stubborn when she wanted to be. Sometimes even more so than the oldest of tree's when they have dug their roots so far into the Earth that they are impossible to move even an inch. He sometimes wondered if it was her nature or her upbringing as Lady Yuffie, heir to the throne of Wutai that had made her that way. 

Then he'd be reminded of just how un-princess like she was by the way she would scrunch up her face in annoyance, stomp her foot or throw her shoe at him, by the way she dressed in the bare minimal without looking like a prostitute. He'd remember her addiction with materia and he'd be left with the conclusion that it was her nature to be stubborn in her ways.

"That may be true but you can't have one without the other." She argued back. "There will always be darkness where there is light. Shadows are created by the light. Dark needs the light and light needs the dark." Her point was valid and he hated it. It made it even harder to resist her when she twisted his own logic against him.

"Yuffie…" He paused; he didn't know what he could say to her to make her change her mind.

"Shut up Vinnie. I'm right." She did it again, scrunched up her nose in order to make herself look like that stubborn old tree that would stay rooted to its ways no matter how you tried to change it. Before she covered the distance of the room and placed a soft kiss to his cheek. "I'm sorry, but that's just how it is. I'm right. You're wrong. Deal with it." 

"You're not sorry." He smirked. He was right though. She loved to be right and he didn't really mind being proven wrong.


	3. invincible unrivaled

**Invincible**  
_16 – Invincible; Unrivaled_

**Disclaimer:** I still do not own Final Fantasy VII or it's characters in any way shape or form and I still am not receiving any payment for the stories that I write… except for the happiness that reading replies will bring me.

He had always been invincible.

They were all the same now. Every last one of them! They smiled sadly, watching her tear herself apart; they pretended to be oblivious to the physical scars she had cut into herself, trying to carve out her emotional pain. They pretended not to hear her shouting curses to _him_ in the middle of the night. They pretended everything was okay because they didn't know how they could help her.

Yuffie didn't want their help though. She wanted them all too just leave her the hell alone. She wanted _him_ to come back. She wanted to be able to hit him, punch him and curse at him a thousand times over and then he would do as he always had. He'd hug her and tell her he was there.

He was supposed to have been unrivaled.

Yuffie didn't want to remember. She wanted to curl up and die, to forget everything. She had already lost the most important thing to her and now she didn't care what anybody thought. She had every_ right_ to be pissed off at him. If he had only _trusted_ her…

If only she hadn't been such a damned klutz!

With an angry cry, one that conveyed just how _pissed off_ she was she began to tear the bedroom apart. Throwing whatever her hands could get a hold of and tossing them into the wall, stomping on them, destroying them. She shouted words of anger, words of pain, words of hate… she cried. She didn't know what else she could do. Each day that went by just got harder and harder…

She was mad, but not with _him._

She didn't expect it. She hadn't been ready for it. The next thing her hand had grabbed was a picture, a picture that she couldn't throw. A picture she didn't want to destroy. She fell onto her bed crying, hugging the picture close to her and whispering. Her chant was the same. "I'm sorry; I'm so god damned sorry." Was this how it would be for the rest of her life? She kissed _him_. She kissed the frame, she'd kissed his figure but she had still kissed _him_.

She was mad with _herself._

She didn't hear as the door to her room opened, she didn't hear the one friend she hadn't pushed away came in and she was only half aware of Tifa lying down next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and holding her. Not like that of a lover, but a big sister. Yuffie didn't have the strength to send her away, she wasn't in the right frame of mind and in truth she was so tired of being alone. She needed the friendship, she needed her sister.

Most importantly she needed _him._

Tifa understood… she didn't force Yuffie to talk about anything; she didn't force Yuffie to wake up or tell her to stop crying and grow up. She didn't do anything spectacular but she was there to help Yuffie hold together what little sanity the girl had left. Yuffie was dieing on the inside and it was tearing Tifa and everybody apart.

"He was supposed to be invisible." Yuffie sobbed into her pillow, half talking to Tifa, half talking to the Gods that had brought this upon her.

"I know sweetie." Tifa said softly, unsure if what she said would have any effect upon the girl at this point in time. It did, it made her crying heavier, her body shook with the emotions she had swirling around inside and she didn't know how to let them out.

Vincent Valentine_ had_ been near invincible; it had been Yuffie that had been his downfall. It was Yuffie he had tried to protect and had died doing so.


	4. say ahh

**First Date  
_18 – "Say ahh…"_**

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Yuffie, or Vinnie or FF VII. No money is being made from this story; I don't even have a_ tip_ jar out. So yes, my payment is replies.

**Authors Note: **I thought I might give a quick little blurb on why my updating of these one-shots has been so quick lately when I'm supposedly working on my other fics. The reason is quite simple really, I have about 8 of these fics done already. Eight out of the total of thirty. On another note, I'd like to thank all the readers, it's good to hear feedback. I know some of these will have grammatical/spelling errors that slipped through the initial cracks of editing, and never fear, I am fixing as I go along. Once again, keep an eye out for updates on my other works. Starting with _Bloody Illusions_. Now without further delay, the story. This one is a happier chapter than last time.

* * *

Yuffie was not sick! She just sneezed out the biggest, grossest and most gubbery guck _ever_ and she had a huge headache but she was not sick. Her sinuses were waging a war against her, there were aches and pains all over but Yuffie would _not_ allow herself to be sick today. Any other day, any other time and she would happily sink into the oblivion of being miserable while blowing her nose into tissues, but she was _not _sick and therefore she had no worries.

Since Fate was apparently on some strike-against-Yuffie, she ended up sneezing the gross, gubbery guck _again_. She sniffled, her nose far too clogged to hold anymore guck and her brain waging a war against any sort of light, movement or sound. She felt absolutely terrible and even worse was today was supposed to be the day Vincent took her out on a date.

Yes! That's right people! She had_ finally _convinced Vincent to go out on one date with her, they had chosen the date and the time and she had got an absolutely stellar dress for the day… and then Fate had to go on a 'hating Yuffie streak' and strike her down with the worlds worst cold ever.

"I'm not canceling!" She muttered, inwardly wincing at even her voice sounded miserably sick. Still, she meant what she had said. She was _not_ going to cancel her date tonight with the cold, silent and sometimes eerie gunman. She would go out in her stellar dress and she would have fun and at the end of the night she would laugh at Fate and all its godly friends that had decided it would be funny to strike Yuffie down sick on the day of her date. Rescheduling was _not_ an option.

So as terrible as she felt, come two hours later she had showered the guck and sickness away, pulled herself into the stellar dress and applied make-up in such a way to cover up the 'I'm sick today' look that seemed to hit all people. Still, she couldn't help but wince as she looked in the mirror. She still looked somewhat sick and her best hope was that Vinnie wouldn't notice.

"Like hell that will happen!" She cursed her luck out loud. She hated this. She really, really hated this. A knock at the door made her jump in surprise, as she had almost forgotten what time it was. She picked up her purse and ran for the door, turning off the lights inside the house while she did so – maybe if it were dark enough he wouldn't notice the unhealthy pale complexion of his companion for the evening.

Such was not her look, she opened the door and felt the cold she had trying to force her into coughing, which she held back, instead she smiled towards the dark gunman as she knew if she were to use her voice she would cough. The pinch in the back of her throat was growing worse with each passing second though.

"Yuffie." Vincent greeted her, with a soft nod and Yuffie felt like squirming under that crimson gaze. She was beginning to wonder if Vincent's eyesight in the dark really was enhanced. The way he looked at her all cold and silent, as if expecting her to say something just wasn't fair. And that damn cough took advantage of her dropped defenses, causing her to break out in to a hacking cough that rattled her bones and probably woke up the neighbor's three doors down.

_Damn you!_

"Yuffie, you should be resting if you are sick."

Yuffie narrowed her stormy eyes at Vincent as he half scolded her, treating her like a child and making her feel even worse. She knew there was no way he would agree to a night out on the town now that he knew she was in fact sick and she felt the disappointment now too. She had looked forward to this night all freaking week and now… now she was sick with the mother of all colds. Fate was a cold-hearted bitch that was sitting up on her stool at this very moment laughing evilly at Yuffie's misery. She was dancing and tossing confetti as she sang in a little sing-song tune "HaHa! I win, you loose!"

_Well fuck you too Fate!_ Yuffie's thoughts cursed.

Yuffie decided that if she had to call it a night at her front doorstep, before even making it out then she was going to at least do it with some of her dignity in tact. She would not fight on this with Vincent because she'd loose and in truth, the bed did sound like quite a good idea to her at the moment._ And that came out so totally wrong!_ She fought back the blush she felt rising, as thoughts of both Vincent and beds tried to infiltrate her mind.

"I know…" Still, as much as she wanted to keep the disappointment from sounding in her voice, it came. Not only did it come it showed it self in her stormy eyes and she felt like curling up and crying to herself, she felt like she was the same 16 year old girl she had been, with emotions running crazy as her mind and body tried to catch up with the pending adulthood. Now she was nearing 20 and those same old crazy emotions were back. "I guess this is goodnight then." She smiled weakly, a vain attempt at seeming brave.

Vincent said nothing as she went to close the door, instead, his claw stopped the wooden blockade from completing its quest as he pushed it open again and stepped inside.

"Just because you're sick Yuffie does not mean that I will leave you alone tonight." He simply answered her questioning gaze. Yuffie stood there, speechless at what she had just heard and those nasty images of Vincent and beds returned, though she quickly reminded her mind that she was sick and Vincent was only worried about her since they were friends.

"Thank you, Vinnie." She squee'd as she jumped on him, hugging him tightly. Unable to contain her happiness even if she was sick and even if he did only see her as a friend. At least she wasn't alone tonight, sure, it wasn't _exactly_ what had been planned but she was sure it counted as a date with his nursing her back to health.

She inwardly was dancing and laughing excitedly as she pointed at Fate and shouted enthusiastically, "In your face!"

"You should get off to bed." Vincent suggested her arms still around him in a tight hug. She resisted the urge to throw a tantrum because she really, really, _really_ didn't want to go to bed. She wanted to sit on the couch and watch some stupid old television show and drink tea and pretend she wasn't sick. Though whenever she began to forget, she'd either break out coughing or, as was the case for this particular instant, a wave of nausea would hit her.

_Oh Leviathan, I'm going to…_ She would have stayed and argued the whole bedtime argument but a more pressing issue was making itself known. She dashed down the hallway at full speed to the bathroom, leaving a confused Vincent alone in the front room. She had just made it to the toilet as her stomach muscles clenched in upon themselves and anything that was inside came spewing out in a massive mess of various foods and liquids pooling inside the toilet. The taste of something long dead and rotten was left inside her mouth. Yuffie definitely did not remember eating anything that had tasted that horrible going down, but then again that was how it usually was, wasn't it?

She pulled herself up and used the wall as a guide to get herself to the sink while flushing the toilet as she did so. Turning on the cold water she filled her mouth and rinsed the taste of bile out of it, brushing her teeth for a good long 15 minutes, in which she could swear she could still taste the bile in the back of her throat.

"Here." Yuffie looked over at the doorway to the bathroom, in which Vincent stood holding a cup of hot tea in his good hand, holding it out towards her, she took the cup and sniffed it suspiciously. She didn't have a heightened sense of sight or smell like Vincent but she could still smell the medicine broken up into it and she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Drink it." He ordered her and she took a sip, surprised to find that it didn't taste bad. Well… no, that was a lie. It tasted absolutely _horrid_ but not as bad as she had been expecting. "Now bed."

She grimaced at the words. First he fed her the god awful tea and then he kicks her off to bed. Now she really did feel like she was a child again. "You really know how to kick me when I'm already down, don't cha Vince?" she asked him rhetorically. He didn't respond, just as she knew he would. Vincent was predictable like that. When he was in a new situation, one that was foreign to him, he went all cold and silent. It was a nice thing to be able to read him like she could. Made her feel special inside and she knew he hated it.

"Yeah, yeah… I get it so you can quit your silent glare." She shot at him, feeling more and more like she was being babysat. She pushed past him, bringing the horrid cup with her and moving into her bedroom. She had ended up changing her clothes into something a little more comfortable, black pajama pants with little green stars on them.

She didn't sleep though, she wasn't tired and even if Vincent seemed to deem himself in charge this was still her house and she was old enough to decide when to sleep. So no, she didn't sleep, she instead curled up under her comforter and watched turned the television on to some old black and white movie. She sat there happily watching the couple go through their trials before she began to wonder just what the hell Vincent had been up. Half wishing that he had just left her alone… it almost felt like he was going out of his way to avoid her and that was beginning to piss her off. He was the one that _chose_ to stay!

So she hopped out of bed and made her way to the living room, where a lone light was. When she entered the living room she spotted Vincent sitting in her chair reading one of the books on the many different types of materia there were. She liked materia, it was powerful and all that, sure but more importantly it was pretty. The swirling lights and hardened mako balls, if you listened closely they all had their own little song. Of course, since the time she had stolen all of the materia that AVALANCHE had and left them stranded and defenseless they had never trusted her alone with their shiny orbs again. Not that she would think of stealing their materia again… she loved them all too much to put them at risk like that twice.

Yet materia wasn't her reason for leaving the warmth and security of her comfortable bed that would be the red eyed gunman whom sat reading the said materia book. He looked up from the book, regarding her with mild interest as she entered moved nearer. "You should have gotten some rest."

She rolled her eyes dramatically. "I don't need sleep Vinnie!" She complained, "And what are you doing here anyways? Being all unsociable and such, I might as well invite Sephiroth over for tea!" She poked some fun at the cold man, but hey, she had every right to do so and it was his fault in the first place. Okay, well no, it wasn't his fault that she was sick but she couldn't exactly blame herself for that either.

"I'm not good with conversation." Vincent admitted to her, closing the book while she sat herself down on the couch.

"You know you can go home, I drank the medicine tea and I feel much better." Yuffie suggested, she didn't really want him to leave but she didn't want him to feel like he had to stay just to make her feel better. She didn't need to feel like he was a babysitter either. Their date had been ruined by this damned cold anyways. When she had said she was feeling better it was only half lie, half truth. She hadn't tossed any more cookies and her nausea was gone. Her headache even felt a little bit duller, but not gone completely and her sinus' were still clogging her senses with mucus. But progress had been made. Maybe one day in the next ten years she'll actually feel healthy again!

"I'd rather stay." Vincent replied to her suggestion. She tried not to smile but it was so damned hard not too. So eventually she lost that battle but who cares? Or at least she would be under one condition…

"You're not going to try and send me off to bed again, are you?" She asked him, suspicious of his reasons for wanting to stay. Not that she thought there was anything perverted at hand here, if it had been Reno or anybody else for that matter she might have considered it, but this was Vincent Valentine. The very definition of gentleman! Okay, so he had a huge ass gun and was a former Turk and she knew he was more than capable of scaring the living shit out of anyone and killing people and all that lovely stuff but he didn't have perverted thoughts! She would have gone so far as to wonder if Vincent even knew the meaning of sex had she not known of Lucrecia.

"No." He replied and she managed to not dance around the house in pure glee, "as long as you drink more tea." He added and she shot her companion a glare. Get her all happy for nothing why don't he.

"Okay… it's a deal. I drink the nasty tea and you watch my movie with me." She stifled the giggle that came when he shot her a confused look, his eyebrow raised in questioning. "Payment buddy-boy! It's only fair and you owe me a date anyways."

"Alright," Woo-Hoo! He agreed to Yuffie's terms of agreement. Perhaps Yuffie could still squeeze a date out of this night yet. Somebody had to take on the noble quest of teaching Vinnie how to have fun again and it might as well be Yuffie. She had the time and endless patience and more importantly the stubbornness to get the job done. She'd have fun while doing so too.

A few minutes later and the cheesy black and white movie was on while Yuffie cradled a cup of hot tea in her hands and sat next to Vincent, watching the young couple on the screen sing songs professing their undying love to each other. Yuffie enjoyed the olden day romance movies more so than the modern. The graphics may have been second-hand and the movie colorless but it was still a damned good movie.

When she finished her second cup of nasty tea Vincent got up, turning off the television. Yuffie got up about to complain when he ended all protests she had with one word and one look. She didn't know what to call the look, it wasn't a glare but it half felt like she was being scolded. Whatever the hell you named that type of look it was sexy on him. "Stay."

She obeyed. Sitting impatiently on the couch, wishing Vincent would stop acting so weird and get his ass back in the room. She half wondered if she had scared him off with her old movie addiction but he soon came back and with him was a thermometer. Two and two seemed to click together inside her head and she now knew what he was up to.

"Open up." He instructed and she shot him a half-hearted glare.

"That's not how you ask!" She scolded him. Clinging the sheet she had brought out closer to her body. If only to make herself seem angry.

"Please." He said no emotion in his voice at all. No remorse, no sarcasm… just a toneless voice.

"Say ahh!" She corrected him. He seemed to not understand her strange comment though and simply arched an eyebrow. _Leviathan, where has he been living? Under a rock?_ She immediately thought bad for the harsh thoughts of hers, knowing perfectly well that not too many years ago they had found Mr. Vincent Valentine all holed up inside a coffin, in which he had been locked in for 30 years. Of course he'd need a bit of refreshing on how things had changed and stuff. "That's how doctors ask their patients to open their mouths so that they can che-" She was stopped mid-sentence by Vincent simply placing the thermometer inside of her mouth. It had poked the back of her tongue causing her to start a coughing fit. When she caught control she allowed Vincent to fix the thermometer so that it was positioned correctly under her tongue and shot him her evilest glare that she could muster with the tube sticking out.

After a count of 30 seconds he removed the thermometer and looked at her temperature. "You're still a bit high. You should rest."

"Not yet." She argued. He had interrupted her movie and she was determined to finish it. He took his seat next to her and she hit the button on the remote, turning the television back on paying attention once again to the screen.

She worked her way through a third cup of tea, thankfully Vincent seemed to spare her some grief and leave the medical ingredients out. So now she could enjoy the green tea in peace… without the nasty taste of medicine. She only made it half way through the cup though before she had ended up curled up on the couch, using Vincent's lap as her pillow and she was undoubtedly asleep. Vincent said nothing to her during the movie and made no movements to wake her, as she did indeed need her rest in order to get better again. He himself turned off the television using the remote control and fell asleep sitting, His good hand had been unconsciously stroking Yuffie's hair ever since she had lain down in his lap.

In the morning Yuffie would wake to find herself on the couch, a hand in her hair and the television turned off. She had fallen asleep before while watching television and old movies and such but never before had she woke up with the television turned off, nor did she ever recall there being a warm, firm yet soft pillow on her couch. She shifted her weight and found herself peering up into the waking face of Vincent Valentine, his hand still tangled in her hand.

_That's right, I was sick._ As soon as she remembered that she became painfully aware of her sore throat, though besides that she felt a thousand times better than she had been feeling. It was amazing what two cups of medical tea and a little sleep could accomplish.

As soon as she had removed herself from Vincent's lap he reached forwards, grabbing the thermometer from last night and holding it out to her. "Say ahh…" he deadpanned, repeating the words she had told him to use last night and she hid a small smirk. It really was cute how he had said it, even if it wasn't any different in tone than anything else he had said. It appeared he really did listen to her every now and then. Either that or he was making fun of her in a subtle matter, but Yuffie decided upon the first option as truth. It didn't matter to her if it really was or wasn't.

"Ahhh…" she opened her mouth, lifting her tongue so that he could place the thermometer inside. It did make her feel childish having him place it for her but she wasn't arguing. After all, he had spent the night at her place trying to salvage their date so she could give him some slack… for now.

Thirty seconds went by and he removed the thermometer, looking at the temperature before glancing at her. He said nothing as he stood up, gathering her half-drank cup of green tea from the previous night and moved began to head into the kitchen.

"What's the verdict, doc? Am I any better?" She questioned, following him into the kitchen.

"Yes." Vincent answered, placing the cup in her sink and looking over at her. "No sign of the fever you had last night." He acknowledged her. She didn't think her fever had been too serious but hearing confirmation that she was once again 'healthy' was more than welcomed at this point in time. She helped Vincent prepare breakfast, as she felt bad enough for having kept him all night and having him look after her.

They cooked in silence though Yuffie didn't mind it. She hummed a light song to herself while she cooked her eggs and when they took their plates to the table she purposefully chose the seat across from him. The silence still hadn't left though.

"Thank you, Vincent." She said after she couldn't stand the silence anymore. It may have been a comfortable silence but Yuffie was not known for her ability to keep quiet for very long. She had to thank Vincent for last night too and if she didn't take advantage of the situation now she wouldn't be able to.

"For what?" He looked up from his meal at her.

"For last night, taking care of me and watching the movie and… just everything." She explained.

She could have sworn she saw a corner of his lips twitch, in a vain attempt at a smile. "It was my pleasure Yuffie." How was it he could make the strangest situations seem like perfectly normal things? Why was it it everything he said held some sort of meaning to Yuffie. She'd heard others tell her things before, like how she was a great ninja; how they didn't mind helping her but with Vincent it was always different. He made it seem real. Like he actually meant it! This could have been completely plausible because Vincent wasn't the type to lie in order to spare anyone's feelings. He was an honest man. He would tell you if you were acting like a child or irrationally or stupidly… in a polite manner.

"Yeah, I know, but you didn't have to stay. I mean, you willingly risked your life to take care of me. You could have gotten my germs!" How was it that every time she opened her mouth stupid stuff came out? She was trying to thank the man and she came off sounding like a 6 year old child. Still, there was that twitch this time and it last a total of 1… 2… 3! 3 whole seconds before it fell back into place! It was a miracle!

"It wasn't that serious Yuffie."

"It felt like it." She shot back. "Still, if you do get sick it's your fault because I had given you the opportunity to escape."

The twitch this time was a little higher – it _almost _counted as a smile this time. And it lasted 5 seconds! "You needn't worry about me Yuffie," he suggested looking across the table at her, the smile now gone and Yuffie felt vaguely guilty before he even said his next sentence. "I won't get sick." She wisely chose not to expand on that subject as she could guess well enough on her own. Her rough guess was that it had something to do with that quack of a scientist, Hojo.

She finished her meal in silence and as she stood up to clear her plate from the table a crazy idea struck her. Really, she should have learnt a long time ago not to follow through with every little whim of hers but she just couldn't resist. She wanted to see his reaction to the little scenario playing itself out in her head.

"Hey Vinnie… say ahh!" She said, as he turned his gaze to meet hers she placed a quick peck on his lips, her lips had barely brushed his and she was jumping and rushing to grab her plate and scrub them before he could even react. Had she managed to gather her courage to look over at Vincent and gauge his reaction she would have seen the faint hint of color that had covered his pale cheeks as he finished his own meal.


	5. the road home

**Hurt**  
_20 – The Road Home_

**Disclaimer:** Life would be so much better if I had created FF VII, or even Square Enix... instead I'm just an addict to the game(s) and the movie. Besides, if I had created them, or owned them in any way, shape or form... well, I wouldn't be posting fanfiction up on fanfiction dot net, now would I?

I'm on my way.

Vinnie, you can be such a bastard! The biggest, meanest and uncaring bastard there ever was, that's what you are Vinnie. Or that's what you wanted me to think, isn't it? You believe you're this big bad scary monster that hides in my closet; you believe that if I were to stay you'd only end up hurting me.

Don't you see that all I wanted was to be close to you?

You pushed me away, you forbid me to stay with you. _"I can never love you, Yuffie!"_ You had shouted, those crimson eyes glaring daggers at me, cutting into my soul like nothing else could. And I cried, and I screamed and I hit you. Oh Gods! I was so blind, I couldn't see behind you're fury then. I couldn't see what you really wanted to say.

I was such a child. I was hurt. I was mad. I felt betrayed…

_"You can go crawl back into your coffin and rot then!"_ And then I had left. I left you to that mansion, to go and lie down in your mansion and to rot. I left you and your demons alone to the darkness. I ran as fast as I could to get away from you.

Oh Leviathan! I'm sorry Vinnie! I'm so sorry! I don't want you to return to that horrible, smelly coffin. I don't want you to rot. I didn't mean any of it and I'm sorry! Please don't hate me. I couldn't bare it.

Just please, be there…

It took me too long to realize my mistake. To realize that what I had really run from that day wasn't you but my feelings for you. I was scared. I loved you and I felt it would never be returned. I thought you wouldn't ever open up to me or care for me like you did for Lucrecia. I thought… I was nothing to you but a kid. Now I see… now I know just how wrong I was.

Please don't be too far gone in the darkness that I can't reach you anymore.

You didn't hate me. You couldn't hate me. That's why you hurt me. That's why you pushed me away. You feared for my safety, knowing that if I were to stay you'd end up hurting me in the end. You fool! You stupid, stupid fool! You pushed me away in some noble attempt to save me and you ended up hurting me more than any one else.

I'm almost there…

Yet I forgive you. You know why? Because now that I know you're reasons, now that I know that you did care for me I realize I could never really hate you. As stupid as you are, as mean as you can be, as hard as you try to convince me to hate you I couldn't. I love you Vincent Valentine. Please, don't be in that coffin. Please don't be rotting alone with your demons. Please! Just be there when I return. I'll be there soon! I promise.

And the first thing I'll do is hold you close and kiss you and apologize.

You hurt me that day and I'd done the same to you and for that, I'm sorry.

I'm on the road home.


	6. cradle

**Excitement and Fear**  
_22 - Cradle_

**Disclaimer:** If I didn't own FF VII or these characters or anything of the sort with the other stories, what makes you think I own them now? Perhaps you all thought I won the lottery, well... no, that didn't happen.

He had been afraid from the moment she had told him that she "loved him". He knew then and there that he should have pushed her away, that he should have forced her out of his life. He had known it would end in disaster. Still, he allowed himself to love her. He allowed her to move in with her… he had taken her innocence, all the while afraid for her…

And then she had said those two words. Words that were joyous, magical, wonderful and the most frightening yet. He didn't know how things like that happened. How could two little words be so wonderful and frightening at the same time? It just wasn't fair. Though he had remembered with perfect clarity her huge smile, her anxious bouncing as she broke the news to him, just everything about that day.

_"Vinnie,"_ she called his attention to her, the excitement that was heavy in her voice caused him to look, an eyebrow arched ever so slightly, _"Vinnie, acknowledge me!"_ She had scolded him stubbornly, her cheeks puffing out in annoyance as she crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the floor.

_"What is it Yuffie?"_ He had asked her, humoring her request. This earned him a huge grin in return.

_"I… I'm pregnant!"_ That was when he was sure the world had ended. He was happy, he really was but he was afraid too. Yuffie was not the type of girl that pregnancy seemed kind to. He was sure he could deal with her hormones and constant cravings, hell – he could even supply for the many strange cravings _like pickles and strawberry ice cream_ – mixed** together** – but he couldn't protect her from her hyper activity.

_"For Leviathan's sake! Vincent! Say something!"_ Yuffie shouted, waving her arms to add to her aggravation. His silence, the blank look on his face… it was enough to kind of creep her out. She hadn't known what she had been expecting but… it wasn't a completely lifeless reaction she had necessarily expected.

He opened his mouth to say something but soon closed it again, unsure of what to say.

_"I'm sorry Vincent!"_ Yuffie's aggravation had disappeared behind a wall of insecurity. Her bottom lip quivered as she thought things unknown to him at the time. _"I'm sorry Vinnie! I… I mean these things **happen** and it's not like I wanted to get pregnant and you don't have to be involved if you don't want to but I don't have the heart to go through an abortion. I mean, it's murder and I couldn't kill an innocent kid and I'm so sorry… don't hate me Vinnie, I'm not sure I could handle that!"_

Her words had an effect on Vincent like nothing else. His usual cold, reserved silence was now hurting her because she was expecting an answer and he couldn't figure out to say. His escape route of being passively silent wouldn't work this time. He wanted to hold her, kiss away her fear, assure her that everything would be okay but he wasn't sure of it himself. It was sinful enough for him to be with her, to be taking her every night in the privacy of _their _bedroom. It was_ sinful_ enough for there to even be a_ them_ or a shared ownership of anything. When it was just them it was bad enough but to bring another life into the mess…?

Still, he couldn't stand the tears or the endless hurt words that came out way too fast for him to understand all of it and so he reacted on instinct and pulled her small frame close to him. Ending her babbling with a kiss to her lips, a gentle soft kiss… a kiss to end her pain.

_"Yuffie, we'll do this together."_

He gave her his best smile, which always seemed to calm her down… though it felt strange every time he smiled, he hadn't done so in over 30 years and then this girl came and pulled him into a world of which he was no longer a part of. Created feelings within him that he had thought he had locked away forever...

He had put her on strict house-arrest over the next 9 months, watching her every step, her every move with perfect clarity. With the baby on the way he was even more watchful of Yuffie and she would often complain about how he never let her do anything fun. He took the brunt of her mood swings; he went out in the middle of the night to get her, her _pickles and strawberry ice cream_. Yuffie and himself would go out in the daytime and buy clothes and toys and supplies as the time grew nearer… as their child would soon enter this world. They would sit on the front porch, feeling the baby's kicks and playing classical music into Yuffie's belly with a pair of headphones because Yuffie insisted that it would help her baby become a genius like its mother.

He wasn't sure he wanted to know where she got those silly ideas but it seemed to amuse her, make her happy and was perfectly safe… so he would sit there and listen to the music that his keen hearing picked up, coming from the headphones with her.

Then he set about trying to build the cradle. The blasted thing had so many instructions in so many different languages and yet, neither seemed to work. He finally had to settle upon calling Cloud for help, as he had already gone through this with Tifa and their daughter.

Yuffie sat in the rocking chair, watching as the two men fought with the instructions and worked together to get the cradle set up for the child. _"Cloud, you have to lift it up higher, it's uneven like that!"_ Yuffie critiqued. She received a glare from her second favourite mako-enhanced warrior, the first being Vincent, as a thank you.

When all was said and done the cradle looked amazing with the fancy little pillow that they had bought and the baby blue blanket set. In the next week Cloud and Vincent would finish setting up the child's bedroom. Tifa would host the baby shower in which all their friends had intended with many gifts of various things that would help the two with the child – in the middle of this party Yuffie would go into labor and Vincent would be right beside her the entire time as she was rushed to the hospital and as the doctor gave her instructions the entire time.

Excitement and fear was thick in the air.

Though as the cries of their son filled the room and Vincent held his son for the first time he knew that everything would be okay in the end. Yuffie sat next to him, drenched in sweat, barely staying awake and with a weak smile on her face, and as Vincent passed their son to her… he thought to himself that she had never looked more beautiful.


	7. kilohertz

**Making a Fool**  
_17 – kHz (kilohertz)_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of it's characters, I am merely a fan with too much free time on her hands and indulges in this by writing fan fiction. No profit is being made besides that satisfying of my muses.

When she was bored she would dig for something to keep her amused. Sometimes she would poke fun at him, sometimes she would force him to go somewhere against his will (though it usually didn't take a lot of convincing). Today however she sat on the couch, upside down while flipping through a random book she'd found. He was silently amazed at how she seemed completely unfazed by the fact that she was upside down.

A mischievous smile spread across her face, one that Vincent knew should worry him and yet he felt curious to know what it was that was behind that smile.

"Yuffie, what's so interesting?"

She reacted quickly, moving off of the couch in a half flip, half roll… if it were anyone else Vincent would have fully expected them to fall over, however, Yuffie managed to land on her feet with all her dignity intact.

"Vinnie lets go out!"

He tried to hide the wince that came with the pet name she had for him, sure, he'd heard it a thousand times over now but he still wasn't used to it. He didn't hate it anymore so progress had been made. He'd moved up a step from hating it to disliking it.

It took him a moment to realize he had yet to reply to her, she seemed oblivious though, most likely passing it off as his usual manner. "I'd rather stay in." He replied. It was true. A demon such as him self should not seen courting an innocent, beautiful and _young_ girl such as she was.

She placed both her hands on her hips and narrowed her stormy gray eyes. Looking much like she was willing to fight to the death, though he knew as stubborn as she was she wouldn't take things that far…

"Don't make me kilohertz your ass!" She threatened, using the foreign word she had most-likely learnt from Reeve in the wrong context. It took all self-control Vincent had not to laugh, in the completely random case that he might actually hurt her feelings.

Instead he managed to change the laugh to a more sputtered cough, which wasn't much better. "What?"

"You heard me!" She replied with a threatening death glare, the sputtered cough adding fuel to her fire. "I'll use my extremely super-duper powerfully strong ninja moves to lay the kilohertz on your sorry ass if you demand to stay in and mope." Now this was too much for Vincent to handle as he did chuckle and hide an amused smile at her antics. It was her innocent nature that he loved so much.

Yuffie was taken a back by the laughter and smile; she'd heard it only a few times before but every time it was just like the first, sending shivers down her spine, making her want more even when she should be angry. Right! Angry! He dared to laugh at her! Well he was going to get it.

"Vincent Valentine! What is so funny?" She demanded of the usually cold and silent man.

Vincent looked up, a slight smirk to him and Yuffie narrowed her stormy eyes even more so as she saw that laughter still there, hidden behind his crimson eyes that looked like they should belong to a God and not someone as cold and uncaring as Vincent.

"Yuffie, do you know what kilohertz _means_?"

"Of course I do!" she retorted. There was a slight pause in which she realized Vincent had been waiting for an answer, and so she opened her mouth about to give the definition to the foreign word… before she closed it again. A few seconds and she opened it, closed it… and thus this continued for a few more precious seconds before she harrumphed and shot Vincent another glare. "It means powerful."

Vincent smirked, standing up and moving over the young ninja. As clueless as she was she was still amusing. "Wrong." He corrected her, and she tried to remind herself to be angry, to glare at him… she was supposed to be mad because he had just made a complete fool of her! And yet… and yet… she couldn't bring herself to do so when he was so close.

"I hate you!" She murmured quite unconvincingly.

"You love me." He corrected her and it was true and she wanted to be angry with him but she couldn't. So instead she did the next best thing. She kissed that stupid smirk right off his face, and she kissed him again for good measure.

How dare he make a fool of her!


	8. perfect blue

**Lie Down**  
_15 – Perfect Blue_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of it's characters, I am merely a fan with too much free time on her hands and indulges in this by writing fan fiction. No profit is being made besides that satisfying of my muses.

**Authors Note:** Okay, this is the last theme I have completed so far. So the updates will slow down a little bit but I can garuntee at least one update a month, as that's my deadline with the challenge. At least one fic must be posted each month Hope you enjoy and the wait might not be too long as I have several ideas bouncing around at the moment.

I also apologize if Yuffie or Vincent seem out of character in this fic (or the one prior to this) as I wrote both of these before actually really getting that far in the _Final Fantasy VII_ game. I know, it's quite sad that I only beat the game this year, bad me. But I had seen _Advent Children_ before that so yay me! Never fear though, I have played and beat FF VII (sidequests and all, and I did it in two weeks!) and _Dirge of Cerberus_. So I'm all caught up once again. '

Now, lets move on.

* * *

I have never seen things the way she has. She'll lie in the grass all day pointing towards the clouds and tell me the many shapes she'll see, anything from a rabbit to a thunder materia. Yes, not only does she claim that there is materia floating in the sky above us but she even knows the type it is. I suppose that is what is expected of someone who spent a while stealing the orbs of mako.

She's tried a few times to coax me into this hobby of hers though, of lying in the grass looking at the clouds. She's told me all it takes is a little patience and a dash of imagination, but I refuse. I am more content to sit next to her and watch her point at the clouds.

"Oh!" Her squeal of excitement gives away the fact that she found a new shape, "Vinnie! Look!" She calls to me, pointing up at the cloud she's spotted eagerly. "It's a heart!" She points again and I cannot refuse her demands. Not when it makes her this happy. So I look, searching the clouds for the one she has found so intriguing.

"I don't see it Yuffie."

She giggles besides me, pulling at my human arm lightly, a silent signal telling me to lie down in the grass next to her. I do so, if to do nothing more than humor her. She slides herself up against my side and points up at the sky once more; I follow her finger to the cloud she has found.

For maybe the first time since she's started lying in the grass examining the clouds I see what she does. One groove was larger than the other, the point was crooked and bent and as with any cloud the edges looked soft, though uneven. The roughly constructed heart floated in the sky above us both.

"Do you see it?" She whispers next to me, so close. I nod feeling the need to keep as silent as possible, in order not to ruin this moment. I want to lie here in the grass with her by my side forever, under the blue sky and I want to watch the clouds in the sky, see the world through her eyes… remember the innocence I had lost long ago.

She squealed with delight and wrapped her arms around me in ecstasy the next moment. The peace of the moment lost. "Now, do you want to see the chocobo?" She asked excitedly, apparently wanting to show me all the shapes she can find in the clouds, wanting me to share in her innocent hobby.

"No." A frown came to her face and she began to pull away, trying to pretend that I didn't just hurt her feelings; I prevent her escape though by wrapping my arm around her shoulder and pulling her down next to me, "I want to stay here with you, under the perfect blue sky." I whisper to the top of her head, before placing a soft kiss there.

"I want that too." She whispered, snuggling in close to me again and I can hear the smile on her lips.


	9. kiss

**A Guide to Kissing Creepy Vampires**_  
30 - Kiss_

**Disclaimer:** …the ninth story for this challenge and you expect anything to change? Sorry, no.

Hey there! Yuffie Kisaragi here to be your host, today we're going to be talking about how to embarrassing Creepy and emotionless vampires that are still caught in the past. For my example I'll be using the one man that fits into this category perfectly, Vincent Valentine. HEY! Now, ladies, he's only an example piece, find your own Vampire, cause this one is mine! You hear me!

Okay, so the first step is one I like to call the 'Stealth Kiss'. Oh, wait… what? Well the embarrassing bit comes from kissing them; did I not tell you that? Oh well, forget it… now where were we? Oh yes, the 'Stealth Kiss'. Now it's a little hard and some of you might not be able to do it, but as for me… I have absolutely no problem doing so because I am the great ninja Yuffie, you see. Let's try. Okay, so the trick is not to let them know your there. Not right away anyways. So there's our example piece right now, Vincent Valentine in all his creepy vampireness! So we're just going to tip-toe silently behind him, careful not to make a sound. Vampires have very keen hearing.

Okay, now the next step is to jump and smack a kiss right onto his back. Try to avoid giggling madly but you do it like this.

"_Yuffie, what are you doing?"_

Damn it! Now look what you made me do, you got me caught!

"Heh, nothing Vinnie."

Oh yes, shorten their name and give them cute nicknames whenever possible. That's another step. Always, always, always call them by the cute nickname. Besides, I personally like 'Vinnie' better than 'Vincent'. It has a certain ring to it, don't you think?

Heh, anyways, if you've been caught like me you have two choices, you can call it all off. Or you can keep on with the plan despite being caught and move to the 'Cheeky Kiss' instead. It's no longer the 'Stealth Kiss' because now he knows we're here. So the 'Cheeky Kiss' is simple really, it's just a quick peck for no reason on the mans cheek.

Like this.

And if you've done it right there should be a hint of pink rising to his cheeks, like… now!

HOLD ON! There's no pink!

"_Yuffie…"_

Oh, mayday! MAYDAY! He has that serious tone. And since these type of creepy vampires live in the past it's highly unlikely that he's about to confess his undying love for you. So now here's the part were we run and we run like hell!

"Sorry Vinnie gotta go. I think Spiky is calling me!"

See what I did there? Shot a quick excuse and high-tailed it out of there, but more importantly I used the nickname!

Don't get your hopes down; these vampires are hard to crack. Sometimes it will take a few tries. So let's move on. The next kiss is one that's a lot trickier to pull off because you actually have to manage to get them to agree to go out to you. Somewhere romantic like the Golden Saucer or something… and when you're in that ride that shows you the place and you see the fireworks and everything, like I am now, you lean over a little closer, and loop your arm around his. Oh, this is the 'Romantic Kiss' by the way. Anyways, when he looks down, flash him a smile and then push yourself up and kiss him, only a little bit of tongue, it's important to keep the kiss romantic and not lustful.

And don't hold it for too long… no matter how good a kisser he may be. Hold it too long and it crosses that 'romantic' line to 'lustful'.

Okay, pull back… now! No, damn it. Did you not hear a thing I said, pull back now! Okay, good. Now smile. Oh you silly girl, catch your breath and then smile. There we go. Now before he can say too much to ruin the mood and bring the attention back to the fireworks by standing up, never mind what the rules say about standing. It's healthy to break a few rules every now and again.

"_Yuffie, you shouldn't stand."_

Okay, now that he's reprimanded you for it, sit down. Not just anywhere, but place yourself right in his lap and smile.

"Sorry Vinnie, just trying to get a better view. Aren't they pretty?"

Make small talk it you must, turn to see him in a few seconds and there should be pink there.

"_They're nothing but chemicals and sparks."_

Oh that bum, he just doesn't know how the play the part of a grateful example, does he. Turn to face him now with a scowl when he does this.

"_You look nice tonight."_

"You…!"

Oh dear, we have a problem here! You can't yell at him now and you're about to blush. This is not a guide on how to get the creepy vampires to embarrass you and he's still white as a ghost. Which means we've failed yet again and now you're blushing!

Great, just great! You know what, forget it. Forget the whole thing your all useless students and won't be able to embarrass your own creepy vampire dudes.

Ahh! Wait, scratch that. Now if the relationship between the two of you is still a secret to your shared friends there is a really easy, sure-fire way to bring some pink to those cheeks! Right, so here's the team, all meeting up in Battle Square. Nothing new there, well… it doesn't have to be in Battle Square or Golden Saucer or anything, but it's nice and that's where I am. This can happen anytime as long as your friends are there.

When they all greet you, quickly turn to place that 'Cheeky Kiss' that I taught you earlier onto his cheek. Oh, but this time it's the 'Friendly Cheeky Kiss' because of the group. They're all silent and surprised, but what about him? AH HA! YES! Victory! See, that light hint of pink on his cheeks, ever so pale but it's there. Never mind the fact that your cheeks are beet red.

And that ladies, is how you embarrass your very own creepy and emotionless vampire that's stuck in the past. Remember, Vincent is mine! So go find another one, I'd hate to have to bring out the Conformer on you and beat you to death with it.

Of course, there are plenty of other kisses and ways to kiss a creepy vampire but those are for another time and some I'll never tell because those are a little more private. Let's just say there's lots of lust behind some of those kisses…

Heh.


	10. our distance & that person

**The Weight of His Sins**  
_4 – Our Distance & That Person_

**Disclaimer:** Still hoping to win a couple million dollars so I can buy the rights to the games, till then… I'm just an avid fan.

**Authors Note:** I may just come back to this one after I finish up this challenge and make it multi-chaptered. I have so many ideas jumping around inside my head for future possibilities that all could happen during DoC and Post DoC (as I have beaten the game!) that it would be hard to ignore them and note wise to do so… ' So yeah… watch out for that.

She was forced to sit there and watch as he cried out in sleep, turning and shifting helplessly on his side as he was caught in his nightmares. She had heard his cries, sounding so defenseless that it had shattered the cold hard demeanor she wished to have. She couldn't pretend to be emotionless like he or Cloud could. She couldn't pretend not to care, especially when he sounded so pathetically helpless. She couldn't just watch and listen. She couldn't just turn her head the other way and pretend not to see. 

She took a deep breath, holding it as he used all her training in the ways of the ninja to silently make her way across the room in which he slept. Tears remained unshed by sheer force of will as she knew what it was that broke this proud man when he dreamt. 

He dreamt of a yesterday that had passed a long time ago. He dreamt of the actions of the past that haunted him still. He was trapped in the sins of yesterday and until he could learn to forgive himself for those sins and move on he would remained such. Until he could accept the fact that he was still a human with a few simple modifications, he was helpless to these dreams and cursed to see himself as the monster that he had been forced to accept.

A whimper, with more emotion than even Yuffie could express in sound escaped from the dreaming man. A man that was usually so emotionless, usually so stoic that others doubted he even knew what human feelings were anymore. Yuffie cringed as she heard the sound, her heart breaking once more for the man who was stuck in his nightmare as a hand reached out to take his pale one gently in her hand in a vain attempt to comfort him.

"Vincent."

He didn't react, he didn't wake and she felt let down. She hated to see him so vulnerable in his sleep, it was breaking her as much as his nightmare had broke him and the tears of empathy forced their way down her cheeks. She didn't feel privileged to see him like this, to see him so lost, so uncharacteristically broken that it was pathetic. She felt horrible because she understood what it meant to love someone, to care for them more than anything in the world and to know those feelings will never be wholly returned.

And she hated herself, because she knew that this broken man didn't want her empathy, that he would only add the pain she felt to his list of sins. Every small thing he did wrong in his lifetime weighed far too heavily upon his shoulders as it was, his inhuman aspects made him feel like a demon. It wasn't her that had him this way.

She hated the woman of his past, the one he dreamt about even now. She was the one that had ended all debate as to his future, ended any possibility of him ever opening up enough to allow another woman in. He used all his Turk training to keep everyone at a certain distance. He didn't even crack open enough to allow a few people to slip in and call him a friend.

Yuffie had no doubt that he would indeed call all of them a friend, the ones he fought alongside, but he kept his distance. After Aeris had died he was the only one that hadn't cried out of their pathetic group. He was the only that remained emotionless and unfazed at first glance, though Yuffie knew others hadn't seen the change, she had noticed he had only become more distant to all of them. He grew more distant after they had fought off Sephiroth. It wasn't until the clones of the one-winged angel threatened the planets existence once again that Yuffie or anyone really had heard from him.

He tried to disappear as if he had never even come again, though Yuffie had followed him. Refusing to allow him to drop out of her life so easily… She knew her affections were placed all wrong, that in the end she was only hurting herself, but she just couldn't move on. She had to keep him in her life, because life without him didn't seem worth it. Even if all he'd ever be was a friend, she could live with that, as long as he was something to her. As long as she was something to him.

Or so she told herself, and even believed for a short time. The longer she stayed though, the more solemn her own moods became. She would cry late at night, knowing he was thinking of that woman. The one that was responsible for his nightmares. For his sins. For his self-hatred. And she'd grow more and more jealous that he allowed this woman to have such a hold on him. She was gone, dead and unable to return to the land of the living. It wasn't right of her to keep him in the past, it wasn't right for him to focus all his attention onto her. It wasn't fair to him. It wasn't fair to her. It just wasn't fair.

Sweat dripped down his brow and Yuffie gingerly wiped it away with her headband, which had removed for the task. The hair that it usually held back fell into her eyes though it didn't matter much anymore. Her vision was already obscured by tears.

He cried out, his claw moving lightning fast to grip the hand that wiped away the sweat. To remove the hand that offered has much comfort as it possibly could while he was broken. Five golden edges dug painfully into her skin, piercing her arm as she stifled her cry of shock and pain. It hurt, as his golden digits dug painfully into her skin but she didn't want him to know. 

"Vincent." She forced her voice to remain calm, forced it to sound like she wasn't in pain. "Could you… let go?"

He did, but what happened next took her by surprise, his claw had moved from her arm to come slicing towards the sound of her voice, she had just enough time to pull back with a yelp of surprise, the sharp edges had just sliced at her shoulder, lightly scratching them and nagging at her shirt before returning to his side.

"Oh Vinnie…" She sighed as she once again took hold of his human hand, paying the violent actions that had just happened no mind as she took up pushing obsidian bangs free of his eyes.

"Don't cry…"

Without warning crimson eyes snapped open his human hand pulled itself free of her grasp and rested on her shoulder, pulling her down for a deep passionate kiss. One that tasted sweet and Yuffie knew she was already addicted to the feel of his lips on hers. She closed stormy eyes to enjoy the sweet embrace. Though as it was broken and his eyes remained closed she felt her hopes come crashing down with one word, one simple name that slipped from his lips, reminding her quite painfully that he wasn't hers. That he felt nothing for her or anyone who was alive. His heart, body and soul all belonged to a woman of his past.

"Lucrecia… don't… cry."

She fought back a whole new wave of tears as she stood from her spot and ran as fast as she could. No longer caring about being silent while she pushed the door to his room open and ran down the hallway, throwing herself upon her own bed and allowing the tirade of tears to come.

She didn't see those tortured crimson orbs that she both loved and hated open again, or hear the soft murmur of his voice, that came after her departure. "Yuffie…"


	11. look over here

**Authors Note: **Sorry for the long wait between updates. The wedding in Jamaica was beautiful and I've officially moved and got a job and everything set up. The biggest problem was getting the muses to work. Anyways... here's the next installation of the 30kisses lj challenge. Hope you all like it. ;)

**when you don't want to be noticed** _  
1 - look over here_

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to grab that one person's attention when you want it, but when you don't they are always there. Seriously, you try and impress them by working diligently, pulling out all the awesome moves and attacks with your oversized shuriken when fighting the baddies, and then the only thing they notice is when… oh say… the oversized snake has managed to knock you over in the extremely disgusting swamp water, knock the shuriken off course with minimal damage and is now moving in for the kill!

So instead of looking awesome, strong and courageous you simply look like a kid in the mud who cannot hold her own.

Oh Midgar Zolom, would you not just please hurry up and eat me now? Swallow me whole and all.

No, it won't. Because although it had made an attempt to do just that there's no way in heaven or hell Vincent would let that reptile eat me! I mean, come on, he may be all cold and seemingly uncaring but we've saved the world together how many times? Not to mention I _just happen to be_ The **Great Ninja** Yuffie Kisaragi. Good ol' Vinnie wouldn't let a great ninja like myself die such a pitiful death. At least, I would hope he wouldn't because then that would be the end of my tales and I'd no longer _be_ the **Great Ninja** Yuffie Kisaragi. No, I'd be the one who'd they all go "Remember that ninja girl who saved the world, yeah she seemed cool but then she had to go and die a horribly embarrassing and pathetic death and I guess she wasn't so **great** after all." And that would be horrible.

"Yuffie?"

"I'm fine Vince. Just covered in gross organisms and amoebas that I don't even want to think about. I smell like death too."

I really wish I had taken the old man with me now. This trip from Junon to Edge is not worth it! Hell, right now I would _risk_ that death trap Shera! Actually, no I wouldn't because the world's fate is not riding on this trip. Just my sanity! And that is definitely not worth a trip of risking my life in an ancient machine that could fall from the sky at any moments.

"Next time we're taking the bird brain."

"I suggested that this time."

And it figures, the chatterbox that I am, I get stuck with Vincent as my travel partner. Okay, well there's not a whole lot new about that, considering back when AVALANCHE had to fight Sephiroth and all Cloud kept sticking me with Mr. Silent too. Count on Spikey to mix people whom are complete opposites together and claim we made a better team. Actually… he may have been onto something. Not only am I a great ninja and all _but_ Vinnie and I, we both fight long distance mainly. It's our strong suit, him with his guns and me with my shuriken. I tend to speak, a lot, and I ramble a lot and even worse yet, I tend to get off-topic or distracted and all that lovely stuff quite often too. Vincent has always had a habit of keeping me on track, or silencing me. Not that I still don't talk too much but at least someone is around to keep me out of trouble.

The only real problem is – for someone who's _supposed_ to be like what? 60 years old? He is damned good looking. So being covered in organisms and amoebas and smelling of death are not things I'm very proud of.

And as I said way back when I began this little rant, people never notice you when you want them too. Only when you least want them too. So instead of looking as if I had grown up and matured any in the last few years (which I have!) I still look like that silly little ninja who needs to be saved.

* * *

A hot shower has _never_ been so welcomed as it was when we reached the Seventh Heaven and Tifa allowed me to use the shower upstairs. She really didn't have much choice, looking and smelling as I had been I would have chased all the customers away. That isn't good for business at all. The only problem is… well… I had been in such a rush to get all those amoebas off of me and out of my hair and to get clean that I didn't grab any **clean** clothes. Instead, I had a choice of a towel or the muddy, amoeba covered, death smelling rags I had arrived in.

My choice was clearly the first one, a towel.

I knew I should have some spare clothes lying around somewhere; I always did though usually Tifa would pull them out for me. I suppose it was too busy downstairs in the bar for her to break away. This meant I'd be left to raid her closet in hopes of finding something that fit. I settled on a pair of black shorts and a dark tank. Changing didn't take long really.

Now where did Vincent disappear off too?

Skipping down the stairs I ignored the bar, Vinnie wasn't the type to sit right up front. No, if I knew the man as well as I thought I did then he'd be more the type to sit off in a dark corner waiting patiently for Tifa or Cloud or Reeve to show up. Too bad, he'd be getting my company tonight instead.

Wait! Hold it! He's not in the usual seat. He's not in any of the dark corners! Scanning the place, everywhere – even the bar – he isn't anywhere!! Don't tell me that jerk ran off the moment I hopped in the shower! I didn't smell _that_ bad. Besides, I wanted to ask him about the WRO or something. He can't just leave me here like this.

It took a while of searching streets, three hours and twenty six minutes to be exact, before I realized that if he had left, he was long gone and so I had no choice but to return to the bar. I have to say, I'm a little hurt that he left without even so much as goodbye. Getting back to the bar I climbed out the window and placed myself on the roof lying down.

You know, I love the night sky. When in Edge, on the rooftop as I am now you can almost see the stars. They're different from the view in Wutai, but they're still there burning just as bright. A beacon of hope for everyone…

"Goodnight Vincent."

I know that voice! I inch forward on the roof, to spot Shelke waving and leaving. Vincent nodding and replying to her… Of all the rotten things that man could have done, he didn't leave; he simply went out and worried me sick. I spent three hours and twenty six minutes _looking_ for him!!

I'm crying. I hate crying but I am. I don't even know why. I guess I'm a little hurt that he had just left like that and didn't even think of me.

Oh shit. He's looking up here.

See what I mean. They always see you when you don't want them to.


	12. candy

**Silence**  
_23 – Candy_

**Disclaimer:** I am just a poor girl trying to make ends meet. I have never worked for Square Enix. Tetsuya Nomura is my hero, and I worship him. As such, no profits are made from these stories.

**Authors Note:** Sorry for the wait everyone. I know it's been forever since I've been around, but as a way for apologizing for my slowness, I've decided I'm going to attempt to do all lists that are currently up for the 30 kisses challenges. I'll do each list together, meaning the first one – the original will be completed first before I start on a new list. All the drabbles and one-shots will be kept here, as usual. In total, that means if all goes well and inspiration keeps supplying her gifts (and my muses cooperate properly) you'll get** 330** drabbles/one shots to enjoy, as opposed to only 30. Yes, I know… I am a bit insane and I'll try my hardest to get through the lists with little delays. _Wish me luck._

Anyways, this installment is rather short, just a little drabble I had in mind for our favourite ship. :D The inspiration for this actually came from this [vanmephisto DOT deviantart DOT com / art / FF-Yuffentine-Doujin-60658022 fan art. A little bit of the prior arts before that too, however I did take the liberty of adding my twists and what not, while keeping in mind the theme. :D _Enjoy!_ As always, _Feedback/Reviews LOVE!_

**…**

"Vinnie, you really need to lighten up some, you know." Yuffie commented in such a matter-of-fact way that Vincent had to wonder if she had practiced that line, along with the rest of her speech in the mirror beforehand. "Being all angsty and frowning all the time isn't good for you!" She concluded, digging her hand into the bag of various candies she had sitting in her lap. She popped one of the sugary sweets into her mouth, giving one the stoic man no time to be thankful for the silence as the _crunch_ of the hard candy was heard.

"You know, you could acknowledge someone when they are speaking to you!" Yuffie began one a new subject, her voice reaching the high notes that only she could do, with such little ease while she condemned Vincent Valentine for being a rude vampire. Someone who was trying _very_ hard not to listen to her while she spoke. Pauses came in her rant, while she devoured more candy in seconds flat, the rustling of the bag and_crunching_ of the hard sweets the only thing that was half welcomed amongst her angered voice and her rant.

"Vincent Valentine! Are you even _listening_ to me?" The ninja screeched, snatching his book away. Despite the fact that he had been trying very hard to pay little attention to her, she made it impossible to do so. His patience was reaching its limit, as he had already read the same paragraph _three_ times while she had ranted and still had not taken a word of it in. Now that she had snatched her book away from him, he had nothing to distract himself with.

"I was reading that."

Despite the fact that his voice was as calm as ever, there was a cold edge to it that made even Yuffie falter in her glare while she took a second to recuperate. "Yeah and _I_ was talking to you about serious stuff!" She retorted her own anger and annoyance with the man clear in her voice. "And you were being rude."

"I was trying to ignore you." He stated simply, as if it hadn't been so obvious that he had been ignoring the ninja in her rants about anything she could think out. This comment only ended with the bag of hard candies she had been munching on earlier flying at his head. Vincent moved out of the way of the projectile candy bag, only to be met with the angry glare of Yuffie Kisaragi. There was something more behind that glare, something unsettling that Vincent didn't like to see reflected at him.

"You _idiot_!" She cursed, her fists balling up to contain her fury. "I was _worried_ about you Vincent Valentine! I came over here because you won't answer your damned phone and no one has seen you in _months_!" This time, it wasn't just a simple rant like it had been before, when she first showed up on the steps of the Nibelhiem mansion. No, this time she was honestly upset as she was fighting back tears. "And this is the _thanks_ I get!" She accused him. He realized only too late that he had not handled the situation as well as he could have. "I…" her voice faltered as she looked away from him for a moment before turning to face him once she had put a lock her emotions. "I thought we were friends."

He had hurt her with his cold comment just now.

And he felt even more like the monster he was for doing so. There was a moment of strained silence, and although he would have given anything for it only moments ago – now he was wishing that Yuffie would fill it with her careless banter once more.

He wanted to fix what he had done, and there was one very good idea forming in his mind even as he fixed Yuffie with a gaze that wasn't cold, annoyed or anger. Yuffie was still recovering from her emotions getting the better of her, but even _she_ suddenly noticed how _close_ Vincent had become to her, and the look in his eyes, she didn't know whether to be frightened by the unexpected change or not and so she could only stare up at him wide-eyed.

"Vincent…?" though her voice had seemed to fail her as she couldn't quite get past how close he actually was, and he was actually _smirking_ now. Her mind and body were as frozen in time as her voice was.

"Alright then…" Vincent sighed, leaning in just a little closer to the ninja who stared at him in confusion at the sudden change in the stoic man. "Let's do something." He proposed, his smirk widened just a bit at the brief squeak of sound that escaped from her, though no words came to suggest any activities as she usually would have jumped at the chance. "But tell me Yuffie… why so quiet all of a sudden?"

The note in his voice sounded almost seductive to Yuffie, as he was so close to her now. The temporary statis she had been caught it came undone all too quickly as her mind went into overload. She was all too aware of how close he was, of how pretty his eyes were in the light and how kissable his lips were. And she wanted to shake her head, to rid herself of having such thoughts about Vincent Valentine! There was no way in all the seven hells she'd ever have a shot with a man as beautifully handsome as he was.

But he was so close to her.

And he had such perfectly kissable lips…

And he was actually_smiling_ with those perfectly kissable lips of his while he moved in closer to her, even the cool, but gentle touch of his metallic hand cupping her cheek did not shock her out of her daydream as he moved in, only an inch away from her lips, she could feel his breath running across her skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

"Well, if you don't want to talk…" with the combination of how close he was, his smile and the low note of his voice Yuffie couldn't have found words in the moment even if she wanted to. This was something that just didn't happen to her, especially when dealing with Vincent Valentine and she absolutely did_not_ want to ruin this moment by opening her big mouth and saying something.

Vincent was relishing in the stunned silence of hers, which was so very different from the hurt and angered silence she had worn only moments ago. He took advantage of the fact that she wasn't pulling away from him in disgust, nor flinching away from the touch of his claw, and he closed the distance between the two of them in one swift movement, capturing her lips with his. To his own surprise, she responded to the kiss, pressing up to meet him as her hands had found themselves at his collar, balling them in the fabric of his shirt to support her weight and hold her up. She tasted like the candies she had been eating earlier, a sugary sweet taste that felt _right_ when dealing with someone like Yuffie Kisaragi.

And as Vincent broke the kiss only a few seconds later, he relished in the silence that came afterwards once more.


	13. good night

**Injuries and Promises**  
_24 - Good Night_

**Disclaimer:** I am still me. Tetsuya Nomura is still himself. And I still don't own any rights to _any_ of the _Final Fantasy_ games, let alone the masterpiece that is FFVII. Therefore, this is still just fanfiction and not cannon (though if you want to count it as cannon, then by all means I won't stop you!)

**Warning:** This chapter does have reference to sex. Nothing too graphic, but there is a bit of sexual content. If you're not into reading that sort of thing, then I suggest you skip this installment. You've been warned, so no complaints.

**Authors Note:** Hey again. Would you believe I started this with the thought of a quick little drabble? You know, like one or two paragraphs. And then I started to scribble it down at work today and well... it grew into this? Perhaps I can keep up with a fast-paced posting, writing like this. Perhaps not. Right now the muses are behaving quite well. Hope you all enjoy.

Oh. I also wanted to make a note, I'll be at Anime North (Toronto) and Anime Central (Chicago) this year. If your there and you see someone running around by the name of Rachey (most likely in a Urahara (from Bleach) cosplay) then don't be shy to say hello. I'm pondering submitting one of these one-shots for the FanFic contest at AN too. Maybe. Or maybe I'll try and write something completely different. Anyways, no further delays, one with the next theme. :D_Enjoy!_ And as always, don't forget that _Feedback/Reviews LOVE! _

* * *

  
Yuffie Kisaragi had had a bad day. Her shoulder was in agony and her ankle was swollen and sprained. To make everything _worse_ then it had been, she hadn't even _won_ the fight! No, instead she had to rely on Vincent to come to her rescue from a bunch of ruffians! She was Yuffie Kisaragi, damnit! The greatest ninja in all of Wutai! One of the saviors of the world! And she couldn't fend off three small time idiots without the aid of the crimson clad gunslinger.

She let out a sigh of frustration, just remembering everything that had happened was getting her angry again, and sunk further into the hot water of the bath. Thankfully, the hot water did make the aches and pains of her abused muscles relax, and she could almost forget the stinging of her shoulder, or the fact that her ankle looked like a frigging pumpkin, the way it was swollen. Almost. But she had promised herself, after the day she'd had, that she would not spend time in her relaxing bath dwelling on what had happened. No, tonight – she was going to draw out her bath as long as possible, then head straight to bed. Tomorrow she would wake up and find that this was either all just a bad dream or she'd kick someone's ass – sprained ankle or not.

However, half an hour later, once her skin felt like it was as wrinkled as it would get from soaking too long and the water had cooled considerably. She exited the hotel bathroom, to find none other than Vincent Valentine sitting on the chair, watching her with nothing but a towel wrapped around her body. She had a pretty good idea too on why he would have stopped by her room, and she was not looking forwards to it at all.

"Pervert, haven't you heard of knocking first?" Yuffie exclaimed, hoping he wouldn't push the issue. Today had been bad enough, she didn't need any arguments at the moment and her mood was far too homicidal to deal with it.

He did not meet her annoyed glare however, as he looked at the swollen ankle and studied the severity of her limp with a frown hidden behind his cloak. The bruise on her right shoulder too looked worse than she had let it on to be earlier that day. Though he had suspected by how quickly she had made an escape that she was trying to hide exactly how bad her injuries actually had been. Seeing her now, with only half her body covered in the white towel, his suspicions were confirmed.

"Yuffie," he began.

_Good ol' Valentine, never one to beat around the bush._ Yuffie thought, half amused and annoyed by the seriousness in his tone. She knew he wanted to touch upon the subject, and the tone in his voice mixed by the look in his eyes only served to confirm her suspicions. _Sorry Vince._ She inwardly apologized to the man, though she didn't feel any guilt or remorse at all for cutting him off as she spoke. "Can't this wait? I'm kind of in a towel here." She pointed out the obvious. He may not be in the mood to play games, but he had some patience in him yet, that much she knew.

"I've seen you in less than that." He reminded the lithe ninja of some of their _other_ encounters. The reminder painted a blush across her cheeks and left her speechless, her mouth opened and closed a few times in an attempt to make some sort of retort, but no sound came out. He was already on his way across the room to her before she finally regained her composure, her shocked expression becoming an amused – and slightly teasing – smirk.

"You really are a pervert, you know."

However the light touch to her shoulder stopped any other words she had to say, as a hiss of pain escaped and she spun around, aiming to send a good punch to his cheek. Instead, her wrist was easily caught with his golden claw and she could only glare up at him.

"Yuffie, your injuries need to be properly checked."

"I can tell you know how it is." She replied, trying to avoid having her injuries poked and prodded at by_anyone_. Let alone while she wore nothing but a towel. "They hurt like hell; I'll survive with a minimum amount of complaining if you leave me alone." Vincent was ruining her plans for simply slipping into bed and sleeping the night away.

_Bastard._

"You could have broken something." Vincent pointed out, once again reminding her of the obvious information that she was neglecting to acknowledge. Injuries like this weren't something to be taken lightly.

"I'm _fine_ Vinnie!"

"Yuffie."

_He really isn't taking no for an answer, is he?_

Left with no other option, Yuffie caved, sitting down on the edge of the bed while she felt Vincent's weight settle behind her. His touch was as gentle as possible, she noted, as his fingers barely grazed the skin around the bruised and sweltering skin of her shoulder. There was a light tugging at the towel, wrapped around her body for protection, and she felt it slipping further as she went to secure it in place. "Vinnie!" She warned.

"I need to see the bruise." He informed, tugging harder at the material. She could feel his gaze locked firmly on the marred skin of her back and shoulder. Yet it didn't help her feel any better about this whole situation. In fact, she felt even more self-conscious because he was being so very professional about this, as he examined the nasty gash that she hadn't had a chance to wrap up yet, just one of the gifts that those idiots had left. The injuries – whether it was the dark purple skin of her bruised shoulder, or the large gash that she had mostly ignored till now – that covered her back made her uncomfortable. Of course, they weren't pretty to look at, but that wasn't why.

It was because Yuffie _shouldn't_ have had trouble with those guys. She _was_ stronger then they were, and more skilled. However, they had fought dirty, always attacking from the side or behind her, always distracting her with one while the others got the jump. She had held her own just fine until she twisted her ankle in an attempt to dodge and then… and _then_ they took advantage of the distraction and hadn't given her the chance to recover herself.

She hissed in pain at the unexpected pressure to her shoulder blade. She felt Vincent's touch lighten, though it was still present. "I am sorry, Yuffie." At least he actually did sound regretful for having to put her through this, but she understood, he had to feel to be sure the bone wasn't injured as well as checking for the severity of the injury. Something like internal bleeding was also a risk that she could only hope against.

Yuffie wasn't a little girl anymore. "It's okay. Just don't take too long." She bit her bottom lip, as he went back to applying more pressure. It hurt. It really, _really_ did. But Yuffie Kisaragi wouldn't be able to call herself a ninja if she couldn't deal with pain (although she did hope to avoid it whenever possible like any sane person would). She instead tried to focus her thoughts somewhere away from the pain in her shoulder.

A task that was made easier once she felt hot breath at the back of her neck, running across the skin and ticking the hairs at the base of her neck. Despite his hand still exploring the overly sensitive skin, his golden claw had wrapped around her torso, pulling her close to him as her breath caught in her throat and her heart skipped a beat. "I'll make it up to you." The low note in his voice sent a shiver of delight racing down Yuffie's spine, as his lips barely touched upon her bruised shoulder. "It's a promise."

In the next second, Vincent's claw had unwound itself from her waist, and the sudden closeness of his body was gone. Yuffie felt herself aching for that closeness again, and grinned, despite the pain in her back as he did what he had come to do. In fact, her entire outlook had changed. She wanted nothing more than for Vincent to finish the task he was doing, while she went about changing her plans for the night to something a little more enjoyable than sleep.

She wanted to feel that heated closeness again, as they would kiss in heated passion. Simply waiting while he worked made her even more anxious as she could feel the excitement his promise had left growing in the deep pit of her stomach. Her womanhood called out, in a comfortable aching way, as she could only bide the time until she could feel him inside of her once again.

Yes, tonight was going to be a good night indeed.

"Ouch! Be careful, will ya?" She yelped, jumping at as Vincent found another overly sensitive bruise. At least, it would be a good night once he finished poking and prodding her goddamned bruises.


End file.
